


Into The Night

by daylightintheafterglow



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, percy jackson - Fandom
Genre: #AU, #OOC, #anxiety, #friendship, #grief, #modern day, #romance, #slowburn, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24757597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daylightintheafterglow/pseuds/daylightintheafterglow





	Into The Night

_Why, why do I keep doing this? _

_ I can’t keep doing this.  _

_ Hearts are fragile and delicate, not a toy to be played with.  _

_ Whoever said it was alright to play with them ?  _

My eyes search the dark sea of the sky as if a million little stars will align and spell out the answers I seek, but there’s nothing there. Nothing at all but sorrow and tears, bitterness and rain and more rain falling down upon me and my dark blue sweater dress. 

There’s several ways to spend a Saturday night and being stood up by a blind date isn’t one of them.

I place a hand to my head and try to stop these emotions from taking over, but as the time passes, the emotions only grow from anger to sadness. Sadness to frustration as I wonder why hearts have to be so fragile and easy to bend in -

No.

I refuse to let them trap me in their grip.

Not now.

Not again.

Not when I’ve done enough sulking for one night. 

He stood me up and it’s over.

I need to move on.

I’m not going to give up on finding love because someone I didn’t even know didn’t have the time to call me and cancel the date beforehand. 

This doesn’t mean anything.

This doesn’t make me unlovable.

There’s still a chance, still a chance at finding love... at least, that’s what Piper said.

But waiting for the taxi makes me wonder how many more broken hearts must be endured before finding the one that proves that good men still wander the earth and won’t hesitate to be there even when it’s three in the morning when you’re scared or sad, or for no reason at all.

Just to say hey.   


_How’s_ _it going_?

Just to talk.

About anything.

I know they’re out there.

I know they are.

I just have bad luck, very bad luck.

And to add to my list of bad luck, the rain turns into hail.  
  
Hail. Of course it begins to hail because why not?  
  


I place my hand out in front of me and watch the ice fall and melt as soon as it touches my skin.

It stops shortly afterwards, but it’s still so cold and windy. How did it become so cold this quickly? I hope the taxi isn’t stuck in traffic, but he probably is. 

Leaves continue to fall down and drift across the sidewalk as I try not to get too sadden at the night for becoming so windy and unpredictable. 

I peek up suspiciously at the sky and wonder if lightning will light up the city next. The weather has been acting so strange these passed few days and there’s no guessing what could possibly happen next. If the clouds quickly rumble to life with a soaring flash of lightning and strikes in this very same place where I stand in this very moment I would not be surprised in the slightest because tonight only keeps proving to be more and more-

My phone makes a small ring.

With a sigh, I remove it from my pocket and look at the name.

Piper.

Her text is a bright smiling emoji.

_How’s the date going_?

I can just see her smirking through the screen waiting for the latest gossip. Oh how I wish I had something interesting to report back on, but I don’t. 

_It never started_.

_What do you mean_?

_He didn’t show._ _I’m waiting for a taxi to take me home_.  


_I’m so sorry, Annabeth._

_ It’s fine, don’t worry about me._

It’s not her fault. The deck of cards just wasn’t in my favor tonight. 

_Are you sure_?

_Yes, I’m sure._

_ Alright. Let me know when you get back home.  _

_I will_.

Yes. If I ever get home, I think to myself as I place my phone back in my pocket and stare down at the creaks in the sidewalk. I suddenly find the ground interesting. The bit of grass in between the lines. The little dots, the indentations. I focus on every small detail until the sidewalk grows blurry with black dots and -

I curse underneath my breath and quickly wipe at the corner of my eye with the back of my hand and try to stop these tears before they fall, but the sinking feeling of defeat begins to crumble over me like a raging storm.

Quick and quiet like a fire, frustration builds inside me.

I place a hand to my heart and remember to breathe. 

I just want to go home and lie down, but even then the emotions will still be there.

The hurt.

The sorrow.

The betrayal.

It makes me question the universe and the different crossroads we’re forced to meet even when we don’t want to. 

Another path.

Another choice.

It always leads me to the exact same place as before.

Here.

Tonight.

Under the falling rain in the middle of the city alone with my thoughts waiting for more sorrow to find me. Again and again. There’s no place to hide and I resent this night for reminding me that there’s no silver lining in sight to be found.

I kick at a pebble on the ground and groan. 

All this pain and heartbreak.

What was it all for? 

They said pain made us stronger, that it made us who we are, but why did the world have to hurt us so much that we needed to build a shield around our heart in the first place? 

A long time ago in another life I was hopeful and optimistic, but after too many broken  promises fallen upon me one after another like a broken record, that person is gone -

_No_. 

I’m not going there again.  


Not tonight. 

I’ve been down this path before. 

A hundred times before. 

My mind needs to stop going there.

One more unwanted thought and I’m going to cry and I don’t want to, I really don’t. 

I stare down at the sidewalk with a bitter smile that is about to break.

I take a deep breath and remember to breathe.

I listen to the raindrops, the softness of the rain touching the ground, brushing the trees, the branches, dancing along with the leaves down the sidewalk, each new sound so soft and soothing.  


I remember to breathe, but when a small tear falls down the corner of my eye, I know this night is far from over.

I wipe it away and wrap my arms around my torso to keep warm. I watch as a new small wisp of silver escapes my lips. 

I glance left and right, then down at my phone.

8:47.

My taxi was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, but like my blind date, he probably won't show either. 

I place my phone back into my pocket and rub my hands together to keep warm.

My mind replays his words from yesterday. How he said to meet him at Emory Gardens at 7:00, that he was looking forward to meeting me, that he wouldn’t be late, that he was looking for a serious relationship, a long term relationship - yeah right. I nearly scoff out loud. Honestly I’m more angry at myself for making the mistake of believing him in the first place.

How could I have been so foolish?

How could I have gotten so dressed up for this?

I told my friend I wasn’t going to put myself through endless failed attempts of dating ever again, but she insisted this wouldn’t be like the other ones, not like the other ones who ended up horrible, rude, or had the nerve to debate how women shouldn’t have equal pay in the work field. Ugh! I went straight home swearing I would never go on another date ever again. 

But here I am.  


Outside. 

Waiting for a taxi. 

And I don’t know what’s worse.

The rain soaking through my skin, or the sad feeling of my heart losing its faith in love.

No matter how badly this hurts, I know Piper didn't mean for this to happen. She’s my best friend. I’m not mad at her.  She didn’t throw me on a blind date just for me to be pummeled by the rain. Her intentions were good and, even though I was against it, deep down, I had secretly hoped she would be right this time, that this date would be different than the others, that against all odds this would be the one, the one to open up a new world and ignite a love like no other -

I shake my head.

A love like no other?

I sigh wistfully to myself.

What am I thinking?

That could never happen.

How could it?

I stand quietly in the rain and watch another wisp appear in the air like a silver tendril of smoke. I smile a little despite how strange the night has turned and slowly begin to reach my hand out in childish bliss as if to grab it, but my fingers fall right through it. It’s so small. So barely visible. It’s nothing but a tiny wisp disappearing in the rain as quickly as it came. The weatherman never said it would be this cold tonight - 

"Please. Take this.”

A voice takes me from my reveries.

I look up, startled. 

Black hair.

Blue eyes.

No...

Sea green?

I tilt my head and frown at his hand, for he holds out an umbrella for me to take. 

It’s a kind gesture, but I don’t believe I should take it... should I?

I slowly tilt my head towards the sky once more in one final plea as if it will help me decide what to do. What to say.

But I’m met with silence.

The only sound comes from the soft rustling wind and the falling drops of rain. 

I have to figure this out on my own. 

But it’s just an umbrella... isn’t it?

I glance back at him with hesitation, carefully weighing the options in front of me. But for the first time I am at a lost.

All because something is offered doesn’t mean it should be taken.

_ Oh, what do I do? _ __

I  don’t even know him, but I know I’d  feel so bad leaving him alone without an umbrella. I don’t want to do that. 

This night is far from over and the rain isn’t showing any signs of stopping any time soon.

I should just decline the offer and walk away, yes, that would be for the best, it’s the safest option on the table, but there’s something in the air telling me to carefully think about this. To think this through, but there’s no more time left. He’s staring down at me, waiting for an answer. An answer I don’t even have myself.

With a sigh, I brace myself for what’s about to happen. 

For what I decide to say next will change everything for the both of us.


End file.
